


Freedom

by Harleythegeekqueen



Category: MCU, Marvel
Genre: Angst, Canon Typical Violence, F/M, Fluff, Implied Smut, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-01
Updated: 2019-06-01
Packaged: 2020-04-05 21:30:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19048810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Harleythegeekqueen/pseuds/Harleythegeekqueen
Summary: Bucky wasn’t the only assassin forced under Hydra’s control. While searching for his friend after the events of Washington Steve finds another and tries to help her.





	Freedom

**Author's Note:**

> Written for: Chris Evans Writing Challenge @until-theend-oftheline || Star Spangled Bingo @star-spangled-bingo
> 
> Challenge Prompt: What you did all those years… It wasn’t you. You didn’t have a choice. 
> 
> Star Spangled Bingo Square: On the run
> 
> A/N: I know I’m slightly late but I hope you enjoy this. It feels rushed but I don’t think it is. All errors are my own, gifs/photos found on Google unless noted above, and as always thank you so much for reading!

  The guards continued pacing the hall but something had changed. Fear was permeating the building and you never knew Hydra agents felt actual fear. They hadn’t fed you in days but at least that meant you were alone. You hoped that meant the Soldier was safe. It had been two months since you’d seen him and he was your only sense of comfort. Now you had no one.

  “Pierce is dead and that Widow bitch poured everything onto the internet. We’re compromised,” one of the guards whispered to another.

  “What about the soldier?”

  “Missing. They say he remembered who he was,” the guard practically growled. “He also saved Captain America.”

  “What about her?” you knew that he meant you but you couldn’t care less. At least your Soldier was alive somewhere.

  “For now nothing but more than likely we’ll bury her with this place. She’s of no use to us now,” you heard them move back down the hall and prayed the end would come sooner rather than later.

  The guards didn’t get the chance to bury you. In fact, they didn’t get much of a chance to do anything before you had wrestled the gun away from them. It was only four but none of them have the key to the collar on your neck. They put it on to hinder your abilities and without the key it was stuck. You lifted their guns and ammo certain that the facility was still in shut down procedures. If the guards had come to execute you then it was only the beginning.

  Usually, the head guard had the key so you weren’t sure where to check for it. Without your powers, you’d probably be a sitting duck. The halls were eerily silent as you made your way through the maze-like corridors. The med bay was empty cabinets thrown open haphazardly, the training room tossed about, which left the room where they’d mind wipe you and the soldier. You ignored the fear swallowing you as you eased into the room seeing no one.

  “Looking for this whore,” his voice made you freeze momentarily before you turned to aim the gun directly at his forehead.

  “I’m the whore you made me. Give me the key,” you demanded pulling back the hammer on the gun.

  He holds up the key and in his other hand holds some sort of detonator, “I think we should go out together Nightshade.”

  Your code name startles you, “What’s my real name?” You’d never wondered until now.

  “You don’t have one whore. You were just a babe when we took you or should I say the Soldat took you. He killed your family you know but he was so protective of you that we used you to control him. Your powers were just a bonus,” he sneers standing. “Too bad you’ll die here without him.”

   “You first,” you pulled the trigger putting the bullet perfectly between the eyes. His expression still read as shocked even as you crossed the room pulling the key and the detonator from his hands without activating it. The key fit easily into the slot of the collar around your neck. It fell away and you shot again shattering it into two pieces.

  You ran into another group of soldiers cleaning out the armory but you made quick work now that your powers were your own again. You put together a getaway pack with money and passports and found a motorcycle. Usually, you’d ridden on the back while your Soldier drove but now it was up to you. As soon as you rushed through the doors feeling the cool air on your skin you hit the detonator and left your prison to turn to ash. You had only one thought now. It was time to find your Soldier.

  Steve sat back with his eyes closed as the Quinjet glided through the air on the way to Italy. Intel had come in on Hydra operatives that had taken to hiding in villas there. Nat and Sam sat across from him trading stories but his mind was only focused on finding Bucky. From Natasha’s file, he learned that Bucky somehow survived the fall from the train. It only got worse from there as they accounted for the experiments they performed on him. A small part hoped Bucky would have just died. He hated that but it was better than the hell they put him through.

  “We’re landing Cap,” Sam calls. “The first location just tripped a silent alarm.”

  “Could be him, Steve?” Nat looks up.

  “Let’s go!”

  The trio fanned out around the condo. Sam and Steve moved from the front and back entrances while Nat took the roof. The silent alarm had been cut off but the quietness of the building was a sign that something was still going on. They moved inside but the sounds of a struggle caught them off guard. It broke through the quietness bringing them to the main living room. A woman was standing over the man who was cowering on his knees in front of her.

  “Please Nightshade don’t do this,” he pleads and you backhand him with a growl.

  “Tell me my real name!” you scream unaware of the audience now watching the exchange.

  “You don’t have one! I’m sorry. Your mother tested for the gene that is adapt for enhancements and you were taken after she gave birth,” the man suddenly grows defiant standing with a cruel smile. “Do you know what happened to your mother? The man you love so much put a bullet in her brain.”

  “Shut up!” you vanish in front of Steve, Sam, and Nat’s eyes but the man falls back to his knees as if someone kicked him from behind. Suddenly your figure emerges from the shadows and with a flip of your hand a blade was pressed to his neck.

  Nat held up her gun as Steve spoke, “We can’t let you do that.”

  Surprisingly, you seemed unfazed at their presence as you looked up. Steve noted how much pain was in your gaze and thankfully your knife lowered, “Then leave this man doesn’t deserve mercy.”

  “Maybe not but you don’t have to be the one to decide that. Please put the knife down.”

  “You don’t understand, Captain Rogers. You could never understand,” the last word lost as you sheathed the knife stepping back into the shadows vanishing once more.

  “What the hell?” Sam asked.

  The man on his knees, “She lives in the shadows. Thank you for saving me.”

   “Nat handcuff him and let’s get him back for interrogation,” Steve commands moving past the man on his knees looking for you.

  “Cap? What about her?” Sam asks.

  “I’m going to do a sweep for anyone else and see if the girl is still nearby.”

  “Is this about what he said?” Nat asks nodding toward the man Sam was dragging outside.

  “What did he say?” Steve asked nonchalantly as if he didn’t have a clue what Nat was saying.

  “You’re a terrible liar, Steve. Find her and we’ll get him back for interrogation.”

  “I’ll never be able to fool you. I’ll be back soon,” Steve offered as Nat took after Sam and the man back down the stairs.

  “Are you still here?” Steve asks to the empty room. He feels slightly silly doing so, but at the bare minimum, it’s at least worth the shot.

  “I’m here,” your disembodied voice answers. It sounds like it’s coming from behind him but when Steve moves he sees nothing, “We’ll talk face to face when I’m ready, but not before.”

  “So your powers are invisibility?” Steve questions looking around the room for any indication of your presence.

  “It’s actually shadow manipulation. I can move and hide in shadows sometimes using them as transportation to other locations.”

  “How far can you teleport? Here to another room? Here to another country?”

  “At least here to other rooms. I’ve never really tested it further. Hydra likes to keep us on a leash.”

  “We’ve destroyed them you know. You can be free now,” Steve sits his shield down.

  “Cut off one and two shall take its place. Isn’t that the old adage? I don’t think we’ll ever be completely rid of Hydra.”

  “Then help me make it real. Help me find the soldier and maybe we can stop them together,” Steve pleaded but the room was quiet.

  “I’m sorry Captain,” the soft words were filled with sadness. “I don’t deserve redemption.”

  Steve waited with bated breath hoping you would return or at least appear. You didn’t but you did stand on the rooftop adjacent to the building and watched the blonde haired soldier. He checked the room over gently reaching into shadows. You didn’t trust anyone. Trust only led to pain unless it was your soldier, but for now, you would trust this man if only because your soldier saved him. You continued watching the Avenger until finally he gave up and left meeting his back up with the man you had let them take. It was time now to find your love and kill anyone who stood in your way.

##  **SIX MONTHS LATER**

The crowd is rapturous as you dodge another hit. He’s a big guy but he’s cocky and a little bit of a misogynist. You let each punch and jab through if only to let him maintain the illusion that he was winning. After one last punch that knocked you to the mat, you’d had enough. The masturbating motion certainly he made while standing over you didn’t help his case either.

  “What’s wrong girlie?” he teased. “Can’t hang with the big boys?”

  “Fuck off,” you climbed back to your feet.

  “How about after I finish you off here you let me take you backstage and really finish you off? I bet I can find ways to really make you scream,” he winks and makes kissy faces at you which makes the crowd roar.

  “You’re going to regret that in a minute,” you growl and then you unleash your full potential. He can’t keep up at you deliver an uppercut to his ribs and your other hand smashes into his cheek. His eyes widen comically in disbelief but it’s only for a moment before he drops unconscious. The referee counts out to three and then raises your hand triumphantly.  

  “Today’s grand winner is Shadow!”

  The roaring sound a mixture of cheers and jeers, but either way you take the money and head to the exit backstage. Your funds weren’t low but it felt good to fight every now and then especially since you remained no closer to finding the Winter Soldier or Bucky Barnes as you had learned was his real name. The locker room was quiet as you stepped to the temporary locker and pulled the picture from your bag. It was an image you have found online of him from before Hydra. It kept you going most days.

  “Hell of a fight,” the voice caught you off guard. With a grin, you turned smiling at the man behind you.

  “This is the third time you’ve found me, Captain Rogers. I’m starting to think you have a crush,” you teased relaxing seeing the super soldier. Your paths kept crossing in the hunt for Bucky and you couldn’t deny that you sometimes looked forward to seeing him. He reminded you of the good things your life had lacked save for your time with Bucky.

   “Just running down a lead and it led me to this underground ring. Imagine my surprise to see you fighting. Now the winning didn’t surprise me but the fighting certainly did.”

  You shrugged as you began to remove the bandages from your hands ignoring the bruised and bloodied knuckles. Steve didn’t though and you could see the frown on his face but ignored it, “I’ll heal, Steve, relax. I mean it won’t be super soldier fast but fast enough that I don’t need you mother hen-ing me.”

   “How about dinner then?” he asked.

   “As long as it comes back to my hotel room and I don’t have to go out in public. I don’t like being in public,” you pull on your leather jacket and check your gun for the journey back to your motel.

   “Paranoid?”

   “I’m always prepared in case a man thinks he’s entitled or Hydra wants to party.”

   Steve held out his arm and you took it allowing him to guide you from the locker room. He seemed to know in which direction to head and given he had no shield you figured it was probably at your motel room waiting. The air was cooler than usual but it was still lovely. For a moment it reminded you of a dream you had often of living a normal life with Bucky. During a mission, you had snuck into a movie theater and watched a lovely film and it stayed with you even now.

  “We’re here. Are you okay?” Steve asks concerned but you only smile opening the door.

  “I was just thinking about Bucky. Have you made any progress in locating him?”

  “A few reports but nothing substantial and I thought I’d find him in the ring, not you,” you chuckled agreeing with his words.

  Steve sat you down on the bed as you put your gun on the table and shrugged off your jacket, “What are you doing?”

   “I’m going to clean up and bandage your knuckles and then you are going to take a hot shower for your muscles. I’ll grab dinner while you do so.”

  “Steve you don’t need to take care of me,” you insist pulling your hands away. He was kind far too kind for someone like you.

  “Hush,” he stood going to his backpack and pulled out a first aid kit. “It’s okay to let someone take care of you.”

  You closed your eyes, “No it isn’t. I don’t deserve compassion, Steve. Please just stop.”

  “No,” there is sternness in his voice that makes you look up. “ **What you did all those years… It wasn’t you. You didn’t have a choice.** ”

   “But Steve people died because of me. Whether I had choices or not they are dead and I won’t ever be clean.”

   “I don’t believe that,” he pauses for a moment. “Did you decide on a name since the last time I saw you?”

    “Y/N. It sounds nice and when I look in the mirror it seems to fit. Do you think Bucky will like it?”

   “He’d be stupid not to,” Steve took your hand into his while taking an alcoholic swab rubbing at your knuckles cleaning off the blood. “Did he ever remember me?”

  “He’d call out for you sometimes. I never knew who Steve was but when I’d come back from a bad mission or whatever torture Hydra had for me he told me I needed to be strong like Steve. I never knew he meant you.”

  Steve said nothing still focusing on bandaging your hands although you had no desire for him to do it. You kept trying to stop him but he wouldn’t allow you to do so. Once he was finished he sends you to the shower. Steve is so kind and gentle with you that a part of you wishes you could believe his words. You can’t bring yourself to tell him it’s the same words that Bucky whispered into your skin when you managed to find your time alone. When you’d creep away during a mission or snap the neck of the guard at your door. You’d hold him and he’d hold you. Even when they would drag you apart or wipe his memories you’d always find your way back to one another.

   “I just got some cheeseburgers and fries. I hope its okay.”

   “It’s perfect,” you settled into a chair while Steve took the edge of the bed across from you. Neither said a word as you ate the meal but simply enjoyed the company of another soul.

   “What’s your plan when you find Bucky?” you asked as you finished up. “I mean I just want him safe and maybe we can hide but you’ll want him to fight won’t you?”

   “I just want him safe, Y/N,” Steve sighed and for a moment you could see the small but brave boy you remembered from the Soldier’s stories. “He deserves to be with people who care for him and if he never wants to fight again then I’ll make damn sure he never will.”

  “What if we all ran away together?” the question fell from your lips without thought but then again it was your ideal situation. You’d be with your soldier or rather Bucky and Bucky would have you and Steve. It would be heaven.

  “Run away together?” Steve questioned.

  You moved across the room and stood over Steve who looked up something like surprise in his eyes. You touched his face and slowly sunk straddling his hips. Steve swallowed but his hands moved to rest on your hips, “Yes, Steve. You, me, Bucky, and we’re all free and live happily ever after.”

   Steve nodded allowing your forehead to rest on his but then he leaned up closing the distance and pressed his lips to yours. You let Steve take the lead. He kissed down your neck praising you and telling you things that brought tears to your eyes. Steve made love to you over and over that night. It was the happiest you’d been since Hydra had been outed and you released. Steve held you to his chest as the morning began to break yet neither of you had tired even from the night of lovemaking.

   “I want to find Bucky but I don’t think I can just run away. I’ll do my best to help him and you heal but I can’t promise that I can just stop helping people.”

   “I know. I don’t think Bucky would want to either, but it’s something to think about. Maybe we can’t run away but perhaps we can find a little cabin somewhere and spend time away just us.”

   Steve chuckled kissing your forehead, “Well what about we stop following each other and combine our efforts.  Maybe together we’ll be able to find Bucky faster.”

   “It would be nice not to be alone all the time now,” you admitted even though a part of you still felt like you didn’t deserve any happiness.

   “Plus maybe you can learn to forgive yourself. I can feel the tension and I have an idea of what you’re thinking, but Y/N I swear you deserve to have good things.”

   Steve helped you pack your things the day after and that night you had rendezvoused with Nat and Sam. They welcomed you to the group with ease offering fresh intel on possible locations. It was still going to take time but now that you and Steve were together maybe finding your other half would go easier. You certainly hoped but for now, you’d do what you could to make up for your years as Hydra’s weapon and make the world a better place. Then maybe one day you’d have the little cabin with your soldier and your captain.


End file.
